SHC defers judgment on pleas against reserved seat elections

Karachi

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday reserved its judgement on separate petitions filed against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to not allow independent candidates to join political parties prior to local council’s elections on reserved seats as well as conducting the polls without filling up vacant general election seats.

Petitioners Nadir Shah, Abdul Latif Sheikh and others had challenged elections on reserved seats which they maintained were conducted without polls being held on vacant seats or entertaining applications of independent candidates for joining political parties.

Petitioners’ counsel, Haider Waheed, submitted that petitioners had contested elections from Shikarpur as independent candidates and were elected as returned candidates on different posts. They submitted that schedule for elections on local bodies’ reserved seats was announced on May 4 under section 18-A of the Sindh Local Bodies Act and by virtue of such notification only political parties were eligible to be allotted the reserved seats while independent candidates remained disenfranchised from the entire process.

He submitted that petitioners filed applications before the commission for joining Pakistan Muslim League – Functional (PML-F) but their applications were not entertained.

He maintained that respondent’s act of keeping the candidates from joining any political party would deprive people from their right to the franchise.

As far as Sheikh’s petition was concerned, his counsel sought suspension of ECP’s notification to the extent of suspending elections on reserved seats in Gambat, Khairpur.

He maintained that notification for conducting elections on reserved seats were issued without conducting elections on general seats from ward number two, without completing the electoral college.

He submitted that voters of union committee were deprived of their right to choose representatives who were to represent them in electing members on reserved seats and in election of chairman of district committee or municipal committee.

He sought suspension of the notification with regard to calculation of share of each political party in local council on reserved seats.

Additional Advocate General Mukesh Kumar opposed the petitions and submitted that petitioners had no locus standi to file the petition as no political party had certified them as members of the party.

He submitted that petitioners did not complete the procedure since they did not join a political party within stipulated time and they could not be allowed to do so now since it would pave way for horse trading and would be an undemocratic way of gaining support of political parties.

The AAG further maintained that all reserved seats were filled up under section 18-A of the SLGA and requested the court to dismiss the petitions as a restraining order would hamper the election process on reserved seats.